With the 90th Map of the Week we return from our Christmas vacation and continue in the Slovanian town of East Fortrees with a look at the Beheaded Draug Inn.

Key to the Floor Plan of the Dreaded Draug

In a battle many year ago, two dark rider draugs led a small host of draugs and orcs in a nighttime attack against the fortress. A Slovanian wizard in the margrave's host managed to bring down one of the dark rider draugs with a spell. Slovanian warriors then captured the body and decapitated the helpless dark rider draug, whose dessicated head now hangs on the wall like a hunting trophy in the inn. The commanders of the fortress still have not heeded the warnings of the Northern Circle. Its white necromancers have told the Slovanians that as long as the head hangs on the wall undestroyed, the dark rider draug could be reanimated at any time and then wreak horrible damage upon the fortress.

The Beheaded Draug is anything but a typical inn. It's a government-owned structure that runs mainly under a contract with the military of the march. The inn's main business is to serve as a mess hall for the officers and soldiers stationed in the garrison. To this end, the military pays innkeeper Svatava a ration fee of 21 gold pieces per soldier monthly (equal to 7 bronze pieces daily). For this fee, each officer and soldier is entitled to breakfast, a noon dinner and supper. They also are entitled to a pint of beer each with dinner and supper. They have to pay for refills out of their own pockets at normal prices. The menu varies daily, but the choice is limited between two entrées at each mail daily. Civilians and travelers passing through must pay 3 bronze pieces for breakfast and a silver piece each for the noon and evening meals. Svatava's lager beer costs 4 copper pieces for a pint/half-liter tankard. There are no single or double rooms for travelers. The inn's third story is an open bay with 17 beds available at 4 bronze pieces per person. No wardrobes or such are available. Each overnight guest is allotted one foot locker and they key needed to lock it. What doesn't fit must be kept on the bed or on the floor.

Cellar (not mapped):

This is a storage area with nothing of any particular value.

Ground Floor:

1. Stairway to 2nd story.

2. The draug's head. The head of the dark rider draug is mounted on a board, just like a hunter's trophy from a taxidermist.

3. Jakes.

4. Cleaning closet. It also contains the shaft from the 2nd story jakes.

5. Kitchen.

6. Stairway to the cellar.

7. Main public room. This room is reserved for military officers, master artisans and the shopkeeper František. Travelers may eat here or on the second story, whichever they prefer.

Second Story:

8. Stairway to the ground floor.

9. Stairway to the 3rd story.

10. Dining area.

11. Beer tap.

12. Broom Closet.

13. Jakes.

Third Story:

14. Stairway to the 2nd story.

15. Stairway to the 4th story.

16. Jakes. Many guests prefer to use the 2nd story jakes, which is open around the clock. This jakes usually has a putrid smell. It has no offal shaft. Instead, the droppings land on a pan beneath the hole. It's emptied by a room maid once daily.

17. Sleeping bay.

Fourth Story: (not mapped)

Jolana, Růžena, Oliver, Nikola and Kristýna have rooms on this level.

Fifth Story: (not mapped)

This level is divided into two small apartments. Jóhann and Oldřiška have the north apartment; Pavel and Barbora have the south apartment.

Sixth Story: (not mapped)

This level also is divided into two small apartments. Svatava has the north apartment; Barnabáš and Regina have the south apartment.

Both versions are released for personal and commercial use under the Open Game License Version 1.0a, which you can read on the Jörðgarð website at:

The Jörðgarð World (http://www.vintyri.org/joerdhgardh/joerdhgardh.htm)

Next week: Slovania - the Black Fortress

Waynan7

01-08-2013, 11:47 AM

Cool idea. Love the descriptions of the place and its proprietor. It would have been fun to have had the upper stories, but since no "adventuring" is supposed to be going on up there, I understand. Same w/ the cellar.
I like the "common room"/ bunkhouse set-up. It is something that seems to me would have been more common than what one gets in fantasy "inns". At least a mix of common room and private would/should be the norm for our fantasy timeframes. I also like how you went with army fatigue green for the blankets, especially since it is "conscripted", payed conscription anyway, for military use. All in all, one of your better inns.

Mark Oliva

01-09-2013, 12:30 AM

It would have been fun to have had the upper stories, but since no "adventuring" is supposed to be going on up there, I understand. Same w/ the cellar.

We have something of a dual purpose in not describing the upper floors or the cellar. This map belongs to a large Jörðgarð (TM) campaign setting release we plan for later in the year. Jörðgarð is an open source, open gaming project. A GM who uses it can download the original FM8 version of these floor plans and then modify them or expand upon them. The idea behind leaving some areas unmapped and undescribed lets a GM at a minimum use these areas as places where there simply isn't anything of interest to a PC party, or, if he or she wishes, one can start with our map and then add the cellar and/or upper floors with expanded gaming material of one's own creation.